--- name: "ijq" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "ijq" version: "1.4.2-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/ijq" --- # ijq(1) interactive jq ## NAME ijq - interactive jq ## SYNOPSIS **ijq** \[**-cnsrjaRMCSV**\] \[**-f** *file*\] \[*filter*\] \[*files ...*\] ## DESCRIPTION **ijq** is a near drop-in replacement for **jq** that allows you to interactively see the results of your filter as you construct it. **ijq** contains two panes and an input field: the left pane is the original, unmodified input data and the right pane contains the filtered output. When you are finished, press Return to exit. The filtered output will be written to standard output and the filter itself will be written to standard error. **ijq** maintains a history of used filters unless disabled via **history-file** in the config file. Delete all text in the filter field to browse any available history. If *files* is omitted then **ijq** reads data from standard input. An interactive menu is available with the **toggle-menu** action (default: **Ctrl-/**, **Ctrl-?**, or **Ctrl-\_**). All of the options mirror their counterparts in **jq**. The options are: - **-c** Use compact instead of pretty-printed output. - **-n** Don't read any input. Useful for using **ijq** as a calculator or to construct JSON data from scratch. - **-s** Read all input into a single array and apply the given filter to it. - **-r** If the filter output is a string it will be written directly to standard output rather than being formatted as a JSON string with quotes. Useful for using **ijq** in a pipeline with other programs that expect normal string input. - **-j** Implies **-r** and outputs without a trailing newline after each result. - **-a** Output strings by using only ASCII characters and escape sequences. - **-R** Don't parse the input as JSON, instead passing each line of input to the filter as a string. If combined with **-s** then the entire input is passed to the filter as a single long string. - **-M** Disable colored output. - **-C** Force colored output. - **-S** Output the fields of each object with the fields in sorted order. - **-f** *file* Read the filter from *file*. When this option is used, all positional arguments (if any) are interpreted as input files. ## CONFIG FILE **ijq** reads configuration from *$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/ijq/config*. If *$XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME* is not set, then the fallback path is *~/.config/ijq/config*. The file format is **scfg**. All settings are optional. If a setting is present both in the config file and on the command line, the command-line value takes precedence. **history-file** *file* Path to the history file. If set to '' then history is disabled. **jq-bin** *file* Name of or path to the **jq** binary to use. **hide-input-pane** *bool* If true, start with the input (left) viewing pane hidden. **copy-filter-to-clipboard-on-exit** *bool* If true, copy the current filter to the clipboard when exiting with the **submit-filter** action (default: **Return**). The filter is copied before the output is written to stdout, so it is copied even if writing the output subsequently fails. Exiting with **Ctrl-C** never writes to the clipboard. **keymaps** Section containing key bindings. Any entry not set keeps its built-in default value. Bindings are written as key names (**Ctrl+N**, **Shift+Up**, **Return**) or single runes (**u**, **G**). *+* and *-* can both be used between modifiers and key names, for example **Ctrl+N** and **Ctrl-N**. When the filter input field has focus, printable runes are always treated as text input. To bind a global command while editing the filter, use a non-printable key or a modifier combination. Available entries are: **submit-filter**, **move-down**, **move-up**, **page-down**, **page-up**, **scroll-to-top**, **scroll-to-bottom**, **half-page-up**, **half-page-down**, **line-start**, **line-end**, **cursor-right**, **cursor-left**, **focus-input-pane**, **focus-output-pane**, **focus-filter-input**, **next-focus**, **previous-focus**, **open-history**, **toggle-input-pane**, **save-filter-history**, **next-autocomplete**, **previous-autocomplete**, **toggle-menu**, **copy-filter-to-clipboard**, **copy-output-to-clipboard**. ## KEY BINDINGS These are the default key bindings. They can be overridden in the **keymaps** section of the config file. **Shift + Up**, **Shift + Left** Focus the input (left) viewing pane (**focus-input-pane**). **Shift + Right** Focus the output (right) viewing pane (**focus-output-pane**). **Shift + Down** Focus the text (filter) input field (**focus-filter-input**). **Tab** When the text (filter) input field has focus, trigger autocompletion or navigate between the autocompletion list (**next-autocomplete**). When one of the viewing panes has focus, toggle between the different views (**next-focus**). **Shift-Tab** Like **Tab**, but moves in the opposite direction (**previous-autocomplete**, **previous-focus**). **Ctrl-A** When the text input field has focus, move the cursor to the beginning of the input. When one of the viewing panes has focus, set the column offset to 0 (**line-start**). **Ctrl-E** When the text input field has focus, move the cursor to the end of the input. When one of the viewing panes has focus, set the column offset to view the longest visible line (**line-end**). **Ctrl-F** When the text input field has focus, move the cursor one character forward (**cursor-right**). When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll down one page (**page-down**). **Ctrl-B** When the text input field has focus, move the cursor one character backward (**cursor-left**). When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll up one page (**page-up**). **Ctrl-D** When the text input field has focus, delete the character under the cursor. When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll down one half page (**half-page-down**). **Ctrl-U** When the text input field has focus, delete all of the text from the cursor to the beginning of the field. When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll up one half page (**half-page-up**). **Ctrl-O** Toggle visibility of the input (left) viewing pane (**toggle-input-pane**). **Ctrl-S** Save the current filter to history and show a confirmation popup (**save-filter-history**). **Ctrl-/**, **Ctrl-?**, **Ctrl-\_** Open or close the overlay menu (**toggle-menu**). **Space** When the overlay root menu is open, activate the selected menu entry. When the Configure subview is open, toggle the selected option. **Enter**, **Return** When the Configure subview is open, toggle the selected option. When the Manage history subview is open, apply the selected history entry to the filter and close the overlay (**submit-filter**). **x** When the Manage history subview is open, delete the selected history entry after confirmation. **/** When the Manage history subview is open, open a filter input for history entries. **Esc**, **Ctrl-C**, **q** When overlay is open, go back to the root menu or close overlay. **u**, **d**, **f**, **b** When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll a half/full page up/down. **g** When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll to the top (**scroll-to-top**). **G** When one of the viewing panes has focus, scroll to the bottom (**scroll-to-bottom**). **Left**, **Down**, **Up**, **Right** **h**, **j**, **k**, **l** When one of the viewing panes has focus, move the view left/down/up/right. **Return** Close **ijq**. Write the contents of the output pane to stdout and the current input filter to stderr. The current input filter is also saved to the history file. **Ctrl-C** When overlay is open, close overlay. When the filter input is focused and non-empty, clear the filter input. Otherwise, exit **ijq** immediately without writing anything to stdout or stderr. ## DEMO See https://asciinema.org/a/496932 for a demo. ## SEE ALSO [jq(1)](/jq/1.md) ## AUTHOR Gregory Anders \